Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi is 59: how he sees the end of the war in Ukraine and why his parents still live in Russia

On Friday, July 26, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, turned 59 years old. Since the beginning of the Russian aggression in the east, he has led the most complex operations of Ukrainian troops and took over the Armed Forces a little less than six months ago.

Recently, the military commander said that the Ukrainian Defense Forces would do everything possible to return to the 1991 borders, and he also indicated what Ukrainians need to win. OBOZ.UA decided to recall the main facts from the military career of the colonel-general, whose parents and brother now live in the aggressor country of Russia.

The main facts from Syrskyi's biography

Oleksandr Syrskyi was born on July 26, 1965, in the village of Novyky, Vladimir region, Russia, USSR, in the family of a military man. In the 70s, his father was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. The future general graduated from high school in Kharkiv.

He received his first military education at the Moscow Combined Arms Command School. Later, he studied at the Armed Forces Academy (operational and tactical level) and the National Defense University of Ukraine (operational and strategic level). He graduated with honors from both universities.

Syrskyi began his service as a platoon commander of a motorized rifle division in the city of Lubny, Poltava region. In the 1990s, he commanded a regiment of the 6th National Guard Division in Chuhuiv. In the early 2000s, he was the commander of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Bila Tserkva. In 2013, he served as Deputy Chief of the Main Command Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, responsible for cooperation with NATO.

At the beginning of the Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Oleksandr Syrskyi headed the ATO headquarters and was later appointed commander of the Joint Operational Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2017, he was already in command of the ATO, which was later reformatted into the Joint Forces Operation (JFO).

In 2019, Syrskyi became the commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in which position he faced the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. He has the rank of colonel general (since August 2020). He was awarded the Order of the Golden Star with the title of Hero of Ukraine in March 2022 for the successful defense of the Kyiv region from Russian troops.

There is little information about the military leader's personal life. It is known that he is married to Tamara Kharchenko, who works at the State Fiscal Service. The couple has two sons, Oleksandr and Anton. The general himself said in several interviews that he sleeps very little. In his rare hours of rest, he reads books on history and philosophy. He also likes to go to the gym.

Appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Oleksandr Syrskyi has always been a non-public general. On February 8, 2024, he replaced Valerii Zaluzhnyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was preceded by several months of tense discussions in the government and society.

In his first statement in office, he emphasized the importance of clear and detailed planning of actions by all military command and control bodies, and establishing logistics for the rational and rapid distribution of weapons. In his opinion, the main task is to constantly improve the methods of warfare and introduce new technical solutions.

One of his first decisions as commander-in-chief was to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka. He noted that this allowed them to avoid encirclement and save the lives of the military. However, the lack of ammunition for artillery played a negative role. This is what prevented an effective counter-battery fight. However, according to Syrskyi, during the battle for the city, Russian troops suffered enormous losses – more than 47,000 people.

A few days after his appointment, the new chief noted that the Defense Forces had entered a new stage of the war against Russia, which aims to deplete the enemy. At the same time, he added that Ukraine's goal remains unchanged – to reach the state borders.

Syrskyi regularly visits the frontline positions of Ukrainian defenders to analyze battle tactics, identify problematic issues, and support the soldiers on the spot.

Former U.S. Army Europe Commander Ben Hodges previously praised Syrskyi's appointment to Ukraine's top military leadership post, saying that as commander-in-chief he "was sad news for the Russians."

Why Syrskyi's parents still live in Russia

As a child, Oleksandr Syrskyi lived with his family five kilometers from the village of Novyky, Vladimir region of the Russian Federation, in the military garrison Kosterevo-1. His father Stanislav, who was a career soldier in the Soviet Army, served there.

At one time, the military camp was classified. Now it is considered inactive, but Radio Liberty journalists who filmed a story about it noticed a lot of military vehicles and people in camouflage in civilian cars. The school where Syrskyi began his studies was named by the Russians after one of the occupiers who was eliminated at the beginning of the Russian army's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to investigators, in 1970, Stanislav Syrskyi was sent to serve in Ukraine and took his family with him. Therefore, Oleksandr Syrskyi finished his schooling in Kharkiv.

But his younger brother, now 50, and their parents, who have already crossed the 80-year mark, still live in a residential area of the city of Vladimir, in a simple panel house. The brother works as a security guard at a local supermarket. He claimed that his elder brother does not keep in touch with his family in Russia. His parents, according to Russian media reports, learned about his appointment only from the news.

The neighbors of the Syrskyi family suggested that the elderly couple were "ashamed" of their son. The Russians are also convinced that the head of the Armed Forces, who considers Kharkiv his hometown and whose entire military service is connected to Ukraine, "chose the wrong side."

What he said about the de-occupation of Crimea and the return of the 1991 borders

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has recently stated that the Defense Forces will do everything possible to return to the 1991 borders. In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Syrskyi spoke about the effective work of naval drones, which sank about a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

He clarified that the key goal of this work of the defenders is to destroy the Kerch Bridge, a road and railroad crossing that connects the temporarily occupied peninsula with Russia. However, he refused to say when this might happen.

According to him, Kyiv had a realistic plan to de-occupy Crimea, but it was a military secret.

"It is realistic. Of course, it is a big military secret. We will do everything possible to achieve the internationally recognized borders of 1991. We have to win... to liberate our citizens who are in the occupied territories, who are suffering," said the colonel general.

How does he see the end of the war and what is needed for this

The Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine assured that Ukraine can end the war with Russia only by fully restoring its territorial integrity. He emphasized that to do so, the entire Ukrainian people must unite around a common goal – victory.

Because there is not always help from the outside, so we need to increase the volume of our weapons. This process has already been launched. We must rely primarily on our strength," Syrskyi summarized.

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